What We Have Been Up To During This Very Long Winter

I have not posted for a while and I want to share all the great things happening in Art and C.T.D class. The snow days may have disrupted our routine a bit, but we are back at creating and problem solving. The photographs below are evidence that the long winter did not slow the students down one bit.

C.T.D.CLASS HAPPENINGS - TRIMESTER 2

It has been a while since my last post and I have lots of photographs and news to share, so check back often as I will be updating frequently.

Trimester 2 started right before holiday break and grade 7 students started with a unit on Technology and its impact on our lives.  We quickly transitioned to "Construction Technology" and structures.  I like to get students started with hands-on labs as quickly as possible. I presented the students with two challenges.  The first was to design and build a structure capable of supporting a heavy load (cinder block and rocks) constructed from one sheet of printer paper, one sheet of overhead projector paper, two straws and 12 inches of tape.  The second challenge required the students to build the tallest, free standing tower possible from  one sheet of printer paper and six inches of tape.  The tallest was just shy of 50 inches.  The photographs below display some of the creative results.

ART CLASS HAPPENINGS - OCTOBER

Grade 7 - For the past few weeks grade 7 students have been busy sketching and creating large, close-up flower paintings.  The flower paintings Giorgia O'Keeffe created were viewed for inspiration.  Students used water soluble pastels for this project which allowed them to blend and fade color.  The photographs below provide a glimpse of the project.

Grade 8 - I enjoy creating collages with my students -although at the end of the day it can make the art room look like a tornado passed through- because they become a catalyst for creative thinking. After spending  time discussing Cubism and the goals of Cubist artist - fractured planes, multiple viewpoints, flat space - we worked on creating collages in the manner of Cubist artist such as Pablo Picasso and George Braque.  We kept the principles of design in mind -Emphasis, Balance, Proportion, Unity/ Variety, Rhythm and Pattern - when constructing the collage.  The photographs below provide a view of the project in action.  The finished results are hanging in the cafeteria and they are impressive.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY -  Structures, Constructing Balsa Wood Towers

This trimester I teach only one grade 7 C.T.D. class, but we still had a lot of fun learning about structures, loads, forces and constructing balsa wood towers.  The photographs below provides an overview of the design, construction and testing process  Once the students had an understanding of types of structures, trusses, loads and forces they were provided with a design brief for the lesson and off they went.  All six teams were able to support the maximum load of 270 lbs.  Very impressive for structures with an average weight of 33 grams.

The design phase.  Students create drawings of their tower design.

The construction phase.  Students construct the towers

The testing phase

CTD CLASS - EGG CAR TEST DAY, Trimester 1

If you walked into room 104 last week and it smelled like scrambled eggs there was a good reason. Grade 8 students were in the process of testing their "EGG CARS".  It must be a little exciting and nerve-wracking to stand before the class and let go of your car for its short ride down the ramp and into the cinder block.  Will your solution work?    Or after impact, will the egg resemble Humpty Dumpty. Either way it's all about gathering data in the learning process.  What material(s) from the allowed list protected the egg the best?  Did one design perform better than another?  What if your design spun halfway down the ramp and had a side impact? Did you account for that wrinkle?  As I've stated before, engineering involves trial and error and redesign. Good job everyone there were some "eggcelent" designs.